EDITORIAL: Bill Battle has the credentials to be a success

Wednesday

Mar 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM

If University of Alabama President Judy Bonner was looking for someone with similarities to Mal Moore to fill the athletic director’s position, in many ways it appears that she found him. Bill Battle comes from the same era of Alabama football as Moore. He was a member of legendary coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant’s 1961 national championship team.

If University of Alabama President Judy Bonner was looking for someone with similarities to Mal Moore to fill the athletic director’s position, in many ways it appears that she found him. Bill Battle comes from the same era of Alabama football as Moore. He was a member of legendary coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant’s 1961 national championship team.It is also well known that Battle, like Moore, was among Bryant’s favorite protégés. Battle served as the University of Tennessee’s head coach from 1970-1976. He had some highly successful years there.Familiarity with football is important when running an athletic department. Football is the cash cow that provides the entire department with the money it needs to operate.But, unlike Moore, Battle left the coaching profession after his days at Tennessee, never to return. While he continued to be associated with athletics, it was not as a coach or as a college administrator.Battle founded Collegiate Licensing Co., which put him at the cutting edge of what has become an important income stream for college athletic departments. In addition, trademark protection has helped colleges guard their image.Battle’s business experience is an important asset when it comes to operating what amounts to a large and expensive business. Like other major college athletic programs, UA spends tens of millions of dollars a year on its athletic teams.Having overlapping experience with football and business will serve Battle well with another important athletic department duty. The athletic director spends much of his time with fundraising. Battle’s business and football connections should make him effective in that role.Despite his pedigree and glossy resume, however, there are some unanswered questions about Battle. First is his age. At 71 years old, he is not young. That raises the question, how long will he serve? Is Battle’s tenure merely a stopgap measure necessitated by Moore’s unexpected departure?If so, plans should be drawn for another transition in the not-too-distant future. It becomes even more important considering that UA System Chancellor Robert Witt and Bonner are likely approaching the end of their careers and three very important positions could be in transition in a relatively short time.It would be surprising if University of Alabama alumni and fans were not somewhat anxious about the transition. This is the best of times for UA athletics and nobody likes change when things are going well.Changes in athletic directors are notoriously bad news when things are going well. Gene Stallings’ departure from Alabama and Steve Spurrier’s exit from the University of Florida are proof of that.Battle’s credentials say that he has what it takes to succeed as UA’s athletic director. We hope that he can negotiate the complex fabric of personalities and circumstances to find that success.